Help!! Marquis SA Euphoria vs. Hot Springs Grandee

[jrl3741]

Hello everyone:

I have done about as much research as possible on my own and I am looking for opinions.  I have finally narrowed my search to 2 finalists -  Marquis SA Euphoria and the Hot Springs Grandee.  Below is an over- simplification of the pros and cons .    Since price IS a concern do you think the HS is worth 2K more than the Marquis?

Marquis
Pros                                        
Better Massage            
Price $7K                  
Separate seating            
Larger foot well                      

Cons
Poor lighting
Exterior color choices
Exterior quality
Must pay cash up front
No free financing

Hot Spring
Pros                  
Free financing (16 months)      
Color choices            
Fountain
Better Lighting

Cons
Higher price $9K
Open seating

Thanks in advance for eveyone's help!!!

[bob5820]

I'll prefice this by stating that while I did consider the HS Grandee, I have never looked at the Marqui, and every thing that I know about them has been gleened from this board. You give the Marqui points physical considerations such as a better message and better seating, while giving the HS points for visuals such as exterior color, waterfall and lights. Speaking for my self, I'd rather have the spa that felt right for me, as opposed to the one I though looked better. You do not specifically state why you consider the exterior quality of the Marqui to be inferior to the HS, but I have not read anything on these boards to infer that Marqui is a poor quality tub by any means. Again I have never actually looked at a Marqui tub, I'm only going by what I have read on these forums. If you don't mind my asking what specifically do you preffer about the exterior quality of HS.

[Bill_Stevenson]

I looked real hard at Marquis before buying my HotSpring.  The Marquis does perform very well and while kind of plain jane to look at, is a well constructed and versatile spa.  The company is much smaller than HS, but has a good reputation for taking care of their customers.  HS sets the standard in the industry for customer service.  So you are looking a two high grade spas from two of the top manufacturers.  

Considering the price difference you have been quoted, and your very perceptive comments,  I would recommend the Marquis as the better of two very good choices for you.

Regards,

Bill

[drprwnap]

jrl,
have you looked at the Epic?  It'll cost you a little more than the SA but less than the HS. I absolutely fell in love with the Epic during a wet test. You owe it to yourself to at least look at this spa.  Quality wise, Marquis is in the same league as HS, IMO.  


drprwnap  

[jsimo7]

Get the one you LIKE THE BEST!! 2k will fade away over the next 10-15yrs of ownership

[cappykat]

I'm a Marquis Epic owner and we bought ours out the door for .  We looked at HS Envoy and that would have been the ONLY HS product we would have considered.  Once we wet tested the Epic it was a done deal.  Better massage hands down.

I don't know what you mean by exterior quality??  Like Bill said, it is a top quality manufacturer.  There are only two choices in color for the cabinet, but like Bob's comments, I would go for how the spa FEELS not appearance.  I am one picky lady and in my opinion my Epic is a darned good looking spa!

[stuart]

Marquis has a much more inclusive warranty, and less maintenance cost over time with filters, pillows and proprietary replacement parts.

There is around $150 to $200 difference just to replace a heater after the warranty.

I'm confused by your comment of "Exterior quality " under the cons section of the Marquis....has someone eluded to the old style cabinet from the competition?

The comment about lighting also threw me...First off, most people only use the light to get in and out of the spa. Second, the light was purposely placed lower in the front seat area so that you could see the floor well getting in and out in the dark and finally have you looked at it in the dark?

Financing costs money and for about $1000 extra your Marquis dealer can offer the same thing. In addition, there are other tiers of financing available for Marquis dealers 6 months SAC should cost them about $250 and 12 months SAC about $350 more. I'm sure they would be happy to offer it if your willing to pay the extra.

There are many other options that you can do like add Color Kinetic lighting or even move up to an Epic for around the same price as the Grande.


You would be happy with either tub in the long run. I had to make a choice over my Marquis and a new Grande that I won in a Court Case almost 2 years ago and after considering all angles and wet testing I chose to pay for the Marquis rather the take the Grande home at no cost. It was a difficult decision

If you have more questions on any of these things feel free to email me.

[Chris_H]

Stuart,
The Grandee has the Tri-X filters now.  I would doubt they will cost more over time...
Chris

[jsimo7]

I have Tri-X filters and have done nothing but rinse them out every 2-3 weeks and put them in the dishwasher at water the water change. No cost at all not even filter cleaner. So far so good

[stuart]

Stuart,
The Grandee has the Tri-X filters now.  I would doubt they will cost more over time...
Chris

4 to 5 filters will cost more over time....I have kept the same set of standard filters for over 2 years in the past by taking good care of them but the bottom line is you will at some time replace those Tri-X filters, Pillows, Heater and jets. The more specialty and proprietory they are the more expensive they get.

I like HotSpring a lot and if the price where equivelent I could understand even the lights and waterfall issue but at $2000 differance you can buy a lot of standard filters to still have a great massage!

HotSpring has always been a leader, Marquis has always been inovative...I can't buy into the Tri-X filter story until it is proven over time. I'm actually bringing a similar filter in to test.

[jsimo7]

SIMILAR filters won't give you accurate test results. Testing the ACTUAL filter is the only way to get accurate results

[stuart]

I see all of these as primary reasons to decide on a spa.

                                       
Better Massage            
Price $7K                  
Separate seating            
Larger foot well                      

I see all of these as secondary "Fluff" that would not sway me one way or another.
Look a bit harder at Jets, Systems, Filteration and even warranty than foo foo items on both spas.

             
Free financing (16 months)      
Color choices            
Fountain
Better Lighting

[Mendocino101]

Both are fine spas and well supported. The good news is neither will be a bad choice. I am confused as to the  comment about the exterior cabinet. Our service tech that works on all brands, has told me the Cabinet that Marquis uses he feels is the best out there, the reason is the warranty, because unlike most others that covers their cabinets against cracking. Marquis is also covered against fading and warping which if something is going to happen it is much more likely to be this.

[Chris_H]

By the way, did I miss something?  I don’t see the Euphoria on Marquis’ website?  Are we talking a 2004 Marquis Spa versus a 2005 Hotspring spa?  

If that is the case, I would doubt we are talking apples to apples here and the major reason for the $2,000 dollar difference.

[Spatech_tuo]

By the way, did I miss something?  I don’t see the Euphoria on Marquis’ website?  Are we talking a 2004 Marquis Spa versus a 2005 Hotspring spa?  

If that is the case, I would doubt we are talking apples to apples here and the major reason for the $2,000 dollar difference.

Good point. Also, are they also similarly sized, featured, etc.? Then again, maybe this person found the best spa for them from each dealer and maybe they're not apples to apples, so what. In the end the customer has to decide what is right for them for an item they'll have for the next 12+ yrs.